


Little Bug

by CrucioAndCoffee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Comedy, F/F, Rita Deserved this, this totally happened in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 05:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15212399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrucioAndCoffee/pseuds/CrucioAndCoffee
Summary: The school newspaper was mostly harmless until Rita Skeeter targets Bellatrix in her story. The wrath of the eldest Black is unleashed. (Inspired from tumblr.)





	Little Bug

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this so long ago, but I'm uploading it here finally. It was beta edited by a friend at the time and it turned out way more dark humored than I planned, but I love it. 
> 
> Rita and Bella were both Slytherins at the same time... this must have happened at some point.

_ 1967  _ __  
_ Hogwarts  _ __  
  
A loud  __ boom echoed through the Great Hall, the sound disrupting the clinks of dining ware as the students enjoyed their morning meal. The doors had been blasted open by a powerful spell, quickly followed by a livid shout. 

" _ Skeeter! _ "    
  
All eyes turned to the young witch fuming - her sisters at her side, ready for a fight. Bellatrix Black wasn't standing tall and proud as usual. Her back was hunched as she bent forward, scanning the crowd of students for that stupid, blonde excuse for a witch.    
  
Students at each table flinched when her eyes fell on them, though they were unsurprised by the manic gleam they possessed. Her gaze finally settled on the sea of silver and green, narrowing in on her classmates at the far end of Slytherin's table.

"Found you," she hissed.    
  
Bellatrix trekked over with Andromeda and Narcissa in tow. 

There was a visible spark to her, she was so livid.

The sixth year understood that people saw her differently, and she was often the subject of rumors in the school newsletter. Normally, Bellatrix would laugh at the idiotic rumors, but not this time.

Rita used her power of popularity as a seduction tool. The girl certainly knew how to manipulate and weasel her way around. How she ever concluded that writing a story about Bellatrix having an affair with a  _ mudblood _ was a smart endeavor, she'd never know. And that wasn't all. The subtle word choices she used were key to hinting about some  _ intimate _ background happenings between the three Black sisters.

With her looming - and honestly,  _ terrifying _ \- aura permeating across the room, she stopped behind Rita, holding back the twitch to grab her wand and hex the stupid girl outright. 

"One good reason, Skeeter, why I shouldn't set you on fire or throw you off the Astronomy tower.  _ One _ . Time starts now." Bellatrix let the fire and toxins the blonde was playing with seep into her words. Her usual cool, soft voice transformed into a gruff, taut one.     
  
Rita didn't turn to look at Bellatrix, goading the witch on. 

What she wouldn't give to simply hex the bitch, or maybe even use her dagger she’d smuggled in this year. The young journalist continued to eat and doodle notes, as though there wasn’t a threat to her well being looming behind her -  _ literally _ . More than enough seconds passed and still, no response. 

Bellatrix let her frustration be well known and grabbed the girl, forcing her to look at her. "Running out of time, and I'm not feeling nice."    
  
What drove Bellatrix over the edge was how Rita was the only student in the school who was not terrified of her. Even her own sisters knew what lines not to cross, but this witch never knew when to stop. Rita often pushed too far, just to see what she could make Bellatrix do for a story. In her stubbornness, the blonde was oblivious to the malicious intent behind the hexes that sent her to the hospital wing nearly every week. People called Bellatrix insane, but Rita had her own strain of it, too.   
  
Rita was the  _ bane _ of existence for Bellatrix some days, and -  _ more often than not _ \- the reason she thought about being sent to Azkaban for murder.    
  
"Bella, you are never nice," the blonde said with a giggle, worming her way out of Bellatrix's viselike grip.    
  
"Oh, you just want to see what I'll do - make a good story for that  _ shite _ you call a newsletter." Bellatrix leaned in so close that from afar, it looked like they were about to kiss. She flicked her eyes up and down the girl’s face, a spark of lust in her eyes, just not for sins of the flesh. 

No, the lust she felt was the desire to see the girl suffer - maybe even  _ bleed _ .

In a soft, yet haughty tone she continued, her breath ghosting across Rita’s skin. "It was funny at first, but  _ oh _ ," Bellatrix paused, faking a pout. "Now you've found the demon you keep poking." With a twisted grin, she kissed the blonde's forehead. 

Her red lipstick left a small, smudged trace. "Marked by the beast," she teased, cackling at her own joke. She pulled away, ignoring the strange looks pointed towards her. Bellatrix didn't care. Her mind was planning for how she'd  _ really  _ get back at the witch.

Rita's face contorted in upset, and her lips wore the most delicious grimace.  _ Finally _ , the girl realized what force she was fighting. Bellatrix was always quick to retaliate, yet was still never sloppy. The promise of a planned revenge was a true terror, and it was written all over that lovely complexion of the journalist.

Over the next two weeks, Rita was jumpy at the sight of any of the Black sisters - or even Lucius Malfoy, who often followed Bellatrix and Narcissa around like a lost puppy. The only words or greetings exchanged between the two was a menacing smile from the eldest Black. It was a promise of the times to come.   
  
_Step one, make the target paranoid. Check._   
  
It took a lot of self control for Bellatrix to not act on her anger every time she saw those curly locks, but by some higher power, she kept herself reeled in. All week, Bellatrix played the part of the student - not _mastermind_.   
  
The weekend hit and the apprehensive atmosphere of Hogwarts was like a sweet dessert. Bellatrix had them _all_ afraid of what she'd do, and who'd get caught in the crossfire. She wasn't planning for other students to get hurt, but she also didn't really care.   
  
Saturday afternoon came around slower than she would have liked. It was the weekend that students could go to Hogsmeade and naturally, she planned to go. She needed to deliver her promises, and her excitement was hard to contain. The rush of causing mayhem filled her veins like a drug. This kind of twisted happiness earned her some concerned looks from her sisters, though she just rolled her eyes expertly before prancing off to find Rita.   
  
The little blonde _bug_ was surrounded by her friends, merrily walking in the nearby town's direction. Bellatrix laughed quietly; so there _may_ be minor casualties. 

Getting to the small village unnoticed was harder than she expected, though most of the other students gave her a wide berth of space. She stalked the group from afar, keeping good enough distance so they couldn't hear the thud of her boots. It took so much willpower to hold in her chuckles at their paranoia. Apparently  _ anyone _ with a Slytherin uniform that passed by caused them to jump. 

Bellatrix relished in the moment. 

She nodded to Andromeda, the go ahead to take action. The middle sister was to lure Rita away from the beaten path, as she was skilled and hid it well. If Andy asked for help, people would believe her to be in true need of it. Narcissa then took her own direction with Lucius, keeping any unwanted visitors from finding the coming shenanigans. 

Bellatrix watched as the group agreed to follow Andromeda away from everyone else. The plan was to give them a newspaper story they couldn't refuse and tempt them into their undoing. She slipped away and followed distantly.    
  
They came to a small clearing crested on the outside of the village. Bellatrix checked to see if she'd been followed, then smirked.  _ Play time _ was about to begin.    
  
"Fancy meeting you here, Rita," she taunted from behind a beautiful tree. Its rotting, dark brown bark mirrored Bellatrix’s eyes, and possibly, soul. She took a few steps out, facing them head on. Dry grass and leaves crunched under her boots, the only sound to fill the air. The group spun on their heels to look at Bellatrix, then glanced angrily back at a steel faced Andromeda. The dark witch held their gaze while calling to her sister. "Andy, come over here before you get hurt."    
  
Her sister complied, though Bellatrix saw the conflict on the girl's face. Andromeda didn't particularly like being pulled into her older sister's schemes.    
  
"Good girl," she said in a sickly sweet tone. Bellatrix yelled a spell and flicked her wand. The grass around them ignited, the smoke and flame working quickly to create a wall preventing escape. Andromeda hid her face in her hands, as though not seeing meant she wasn't  _ really  _ involved.    
  
"Last words?" Bellatrix chuckled. The group looked ghostly pale, and she read it clear on their faces -  they thought they were going to die. But she wasn't going to kill them - no, that would be too easy. 

Traumatizing them was  _ much  _ more lasting. 

Her eyes glossed over them all and she relished in the stench of their panic. Rita, however, was struggling to keep her face from showing her fear and defiant anger. The flames spread and licked the edge of the nearby buildings, igniting them as well. 

Bellatrix flinched as a hand clenched her shoulder tightly, stilling her arm before she could fling a hex at Rita. Her head whipped around, wild eyes meeting stern, green ones. McGonagall had a frustrated Narcissa in her other hand. 

"Oh  _ shit _ ," she mumbled, wand arm falling limp as she narrowed her gaze on the professor.    
  
"Miss Black,  _ please  _ explain." She spoke hoarsely, her anger hidden under tight lipped words. 

Those damn green eyes made her skin crawl. Bellatrix shook her head, refusing to speak as she took a step backwards, shifting away when Professor McGonagall let her hand slip and lose contact.

In one last devious act of rebellion, Bellatrix threw a nasty hex towards the group, aiming for Rita and hitting her target. The girl let out a shriek as the spell sliced her shoulder open. With a smirk, Bellatrix turned back to the professor, her gnarled wand twirling nonchalantly in her grip. She stood her ground a moment longer before speaking over her shoulder to a snivelling Rita.   
  
"Lucky little bug. I didn't even get my fun."  The students were herded back to the castle, a smug Bellatrix among them as Rita Skeeter was levitated to the Hospital Wing. Narcissa clung to her the entire walk while Andromeda ignored them both. Unfortunately, Bellatrix had been forced to sit through a nasty meeting with the Headmaster for her role in the Hogsmeade fiasco, but came away with no more than detention for the remainder of the school year. She practically  _ lived _ in detention, even more than her own common room, but all was well when it resulted in the school newspaper’s cancellation. She tallied  _ that _ as a morale victory. Rita never did bother her again - in fact, she quite  _ enjoyed  _ the evil eye she got whenever they passed one another in the halls. Afterall…

Itty, bitty bugs were quite easy to  _ squash _ .


End file.
